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How Life Was Like Living In The Backwoods
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Life In The Back Woods
Arriving
British settlers known as Loyalists went to the British Colonies after the American Revolution. Some went in towns and had jobs there, others went to the backwoods to start farms.They traveled in wagons on trails to their assigned pieces of land. Southeastern Ontario, the place we know today once had tons of forests and trails but very few buildings and roads.
Working In The Fields
Life in the fields was not an easy job. There were no tractors or machines to help, so you had to chop down the trees by hand with an axe and many men were needed to carry the logs once they were cut down so they could be made into planks for houses to be built. Once the trees and stones were removed, the soil needed to be turned so that the seeds could be planted. Every year a farm family would try to clear a little more land. The crops the farmers planted were: Wheat, squash, potatoes and corn. Many other settlers made a living off fishing and forestry buisnesses.
Working In The Home
In the early 1800s, almost all women worked in the home. The few that didn't were either teachers, dress makers, innkeepers, or nuns.Working in the home was a woman's main responsibility- they would look after the children, clean, cook, sew, care for the farm animals, wash the cloths, make candles, spin wool, knit, make soap, planted and tended to vegetable gardens, and many other daily chores.
Schooling
Everyone, even kids, had to help out with household chores,or work on the farm. Each family had an average of seven or eight children. Very few children went to school because they had a lot of responsibilities at home. Also, there were only few private schools which all charged fees which only wealthy families could afford. Some kids learned how to read and write from there parents or older siblings. In 1807, a government act in Upper Canada approved for funding for eight public schools- each with room for one hundred boys. This was the beginning of the public school system we have today in Canada.
Making Communities
When living in the backwoods, the settlers tried to live close together to help each other with the challenges they faced and in the times of need.
Government Planning
Government Planning
The British Government made it difficult to make communities that can stay in touch. Robert Fleming Gourlay came to upper Canada in 1817 to claim land. He saw that
the governments claimed lands were in the way of roads that connected to villages and other people. The government kep Crown reserves (land set aside for the Government) and Clergy reserves (land aside for Protestant churches). Some other land was set aside for other things. Gorlay brought complaints, but he was soon banashed by the government for 20 years.
Working Bees
Working Bees
Working Bees are events where many men and women would come together to acomplish a big task. They were like modern day social events in schools or communtity centers, except that the early settlers did not have many of these so their socials were very rare. They would do things like build barns, shear sheep, pick apples, and cut down trees. There would be a lot of preperation before the actual event, and the women would spend 2-3 days cooking baking and cleaning for the feasts that happened afterwards.
Choosing Neighbors
Choosing Neighbors
Many settlers tried to settle in places close to their families, with people who spoke the same language, had the same religion, or were in the same military regiment. Settlers made requests before choosing land, if they did it after buying the land, then they didn't have much choice.
Richard Pierpoint
Richard Pierpoint was a Black Loyalist who fought for the British in the American Revolution. Since he was loyal to Britain, after the war they gave him freedom from slavery and a land grant in the Niagara regions in 1788. Pierpoint was also a storyteller who traveled around Upper Canada and during those travels he realized that all the Black Loyalists were spread out and not able to form their own community. He then gathered with 18 other Black Loyalists and wrote a petition asking to be given their own land for a community.
Community Of Equals
Becoming A Community Of Equals
There are many things that the Loyalists left behind when moving into the Backwoods such as established home, farms, connected social circles and an easier lifestyle. Fort others, it was a step into an easier lifestyle than before. Many of them were treated with kindness and friendliness, even though they were of lower rank. No matter their rank, all the settlers had to work hard farming their land and other large tasks.